I began clearing the path for the Mountain Division on August 29, 2016. After completing construction of the new trestle last summer, it was finally time to begin laying track. The first rail was placed on the trestle on May 7 of this year. Yesterday, I finished laying all the rail across the trestle, installed weed control cloth, placed some ties, and began setting track.

By the end of the day, 65 feet of track had been fully laid on the ground, with another 65 feet already joined and ready for ties. I’m really impressed with the new Accu-tie Rail System — it’s made the process much smoother. If we hadn’t needed to punch the rail and finish screwing down 45 feet on the trestle, I probably could have laid over 100 more feet. I also ran out of rail joiners (ordered too few), but a new order is on the way.

Below are a few progress photos. I’m also planning a bridge or tunnel to allow the backhoe to cross the track and access the center of the extension. I want to see this project tied up by the end of August, but with ballast work ahead that might be an unrealistic goal.